Tennis: NZ wrap up Davis Cup sweep

The New Zealand Davis Cup team wrapped up their Asia/Oceania Group II first round tie against Lebanon at North Harbour today.

Dan King-Turner and Artem Sitak took less than an hour each to win the reverse singles, dropping only nine games between them as New Zealand competed a 5-0 whitewash.

The final day of the tie once again showed the disparity between New Zealand's professionals and the travelling part-time players, with Kiwi team captain Alistair Hunt praising his side for staying focused instead of taking the foot off the pedal.

"It was a nice quick day," he said. "I think it's just good for the boys that they stayed focused and did what they had to do. The scoreline shows that sort of stuff and that's a positive from our point of view."

King-Turner beat Lebanon No 3 Ibrahim Abou Chahine 6-0 6-1 in 45 minutes, while Artem Sitak dispatched the Lebanon No 2 Michael Massih 6-0 6-0 in 38 minutes. The matches cemented a record for the fewest number of games conceded overall for the New Zealand team in a Davis Cup victory.

New Zealand will now play either Pakistan or Sri Lanka in April. The final of Group II will be held in September, with Thailand or the Philippines likely to come through in the bottom half of the draw.

"We've just got to sit down now when we find out when and where we're playing and who we're playing," Hunt said. "And map out a good schedule for guys in the team and go from there see where everyone is.

"This next tie is all about winning and we've got to get the best team on the park and go from there. We'll just move on and try and go bigger and better for next time."